


14 C.F.R. 1211

by Sinistretoile



Series: Hallowe'en [46]
Category: The Martian (2015), The Martian - All Media Types, The Martian - Andy Weir
Genre: 31 Days Of Halloween, Alien Character(s), Alien/Human Relationships, Aliens, Alternate Universe - Horror, Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Genderfluid Character, Halloween, Horror, Other, Psychological Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 15:29:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20909909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinistretoile/pseuds/Sinistretoile
Summary: Dr. Chris Beck is part of the crew to encounter and rescue extraterrestrial life in space. It's not what he wanted or expected.





	14 C.F.R. 1211

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts: 143 “The creature is staring at me again.” + 104 "I can hear it calling my name." https://snake-noodles.tumblr.com/post/176196126762/150-angsthorror-prompts
> 
> 14 C.F.R. 1211 is the Extraterrestrial Exposure Law enacted from 1969-1977 by NASA during the space race and the golden age of space travel and exploration.

The mission had returned exactly 157 days ago. The entire crew was quarantined. Every test medically possible was ran on them. Contact with extraterrestrial life?! Amazing! This could change the course of mankind. Of science. That was until the federal government got involved.  
Accommodations they had grown used to over the years of performing space missions for NASA became their prison. Their contact with loved ones and 'outsiders' was monitored. The alien was classified information. And none of the crew wanted to know the consequences of letting it that slip.  
Chris Beck lounged on the bed, his arms tucked under his head. He'd read through all his books and he was bored with the streaming options. They were allowed run on the grounds and perform their normal PT. Which he'd already done. The crew played board games and card games. But even those became repetitive.  
After 5 months and one week, Chris Beck had grown stir crazy. Then the dreams started. He couldn't pinpoint when. They weren't nightmares or night terrors. Just a feeling of dread, of being watched and followed, of being trapped, hunted. He would wake up with his heart pounding and sweating, hands fisted in the sheets. It began to wear on him. It didn't go unnoticed.  
The general clasped his hands behind his back. "You feeling alright, Beck?"  
"Not sleeping well. That happens when I haven't been allowed to go home and sleep in my own bed for over six months since the end of my 5 year mission."  
"Now, Dr. Beck, you of people show appreciate the importance of this unprecedented occurrence."  
"General, was there a reason you called me down here? I haven't been allowed in the testing lab since our initial battery of tests post-homecoming."  
"No pulling anything over on you, eh, doc?" Beck clenched his fists at his sides and his jaw. "You examined the creature upon contact, correct?"  
"Yes, it allowed me to complete a full physical examination."  
"Including blood draw?"  
"Yes, sir. I assure you, my work is above board. I didn't harm or coerce it in any way. It seemed curious."  
"She."  
"Excuse me?"  
"The extraterrestrial creature is a she, Dr. Beck."  
"In my professional opinion, it would be unwise to label a life form not of this Earth with human gender."  
"See for yourself, Dr. Beck." The general pressed a button on the wall and a metal partition slid to the side, revealing the creature they had rescued from the asteroid's surface. It sat cross-legged on the bed it had been given. Long flowing hair grew from the previously bald head. It looked up and smiled, recognizing him right away.  
It stood from the bed and approached the glass. He noted the vague shape of breasts beneath the hospital gown. It had adapted a swell of shapely hips. And it's androgynous features had a definite feminine cast now.  
"I stand corrected. It is most definitely presenting as a female."  
"We'd like you to examine her again."  
"I don't know how much more help I can be."  
The alien life form on the other side of the glass regarded him with curiosity and a touch of fondness. It remembered the care and respect Beck had treated it with upon bringing it aboard the shuttle. If an alien could trust, it...she trusted him.  
And that's how Beck found himself routinely examining the alien life form every few days. A few questions enlightened him. She hadn't let anyone else near her. They couldn't catch her and when they did, she became a feral creature, lashing out and attacking.   
His dreams shifted as well. They became less voids filled with emotion and more images. He saw the asteroid, the shuttle, himself and his crew. He saw the lab as well. It didn't take a genius to figure out these were from her. He couldn't figure out why though.  
**"The creature is starting at me again."** Beck looked over the top of the microscope at the glass. She stood on the other side, watching his every move.  
"It would seem your good looks and charm transcend earthly limits, Dr. Beck."  
"Dr. Ross, seriously." The little brunette cackled.  
"What? A female alien can't think you're hot, Beck?"  
"No. I don't think it does. She does. It does." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think we need to be very careful attributing human and Earthling thoughts and characteristics to the creature. For all we know, she wants to rip me open and lay eggs inside me so her offspring feast on my corpse upon hatching."  
"So you agree it's a female."  
He sighed. "The alien is presenting as a female. It appears female. But look around, Dr. Ross." He drew his colleague's attention to the staff in the lab. "Most of the humans it encounters on a daily basis are female. Maybe it's simply adapting it's appearance to what it sees."  
"You're implying that the creature can manipulate it's physical form to camouflage itself within a population."  
"Yes, Dr. Ross. That's exactly what I'm implying." Beck looked at the glass. The creature had sat on the floor but still, it watched him.

One by one, over the next 3 months, the crew was released from quarantine. As the year anniversary of the homecoming rolled around, Dr. Beck was only one left that hadn't been allowed to leave the base and return home to his normal life.  
Some time in that 3 months, Chris Beck began sleepwalking. He would wake up in the hallway or in the lab. He would sometimes wake up back in bed but he wouldn't feel rested, even without the dreams.  
Dr. Ross set the coffee mug down next to his microscope. "You look like hell, Beck."  
"Thanks so much, Ross." He brought the cup to his lips. He blew softly before taking a sip.  
She squeezed his shoulder then sat down in the chair next to him. "Seriously, Chris, are you still not sleeping well?" He shook his head. "Chris, you've got to take care of yourself. They don't give a fuck. You need to."  
Beck looked over to the glass. His attention spaced out. Could he tell Dr. Ross about the dreams or the sleepwalking? He turned his head to slowly look at her as she booted up her computer. No. No, he couldn't. He'd find himself in a glassed in room like the alien.  
**"I can hear it calling my name."**  
Dr. Ross turned back to him from her monitor. "What did you say, Beck?"  
Chris looked back to the alien. "Nothing." He sipped the coffee then returned to his microscope. They were both prisoners here. He knew that now. Her/It on the other side of the glass and him on this side of it but still a prisoner just the same.


End file.
